I was privileged to witness one of the best football matches ever played in this part of the World. It came in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup between one of the favorites, Saudi Arabia, and the unpredictable Uzbekistan.

The game ended 2-1 in favor of the Saudis. However the scoreline did not adequately tell the story of a glorious game played on a wet, humid and steamy night in the cauldron that is the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In a one-paragraph summary of the game, the Saudis scored first through Yasser Al Qahtani after only three minutes. That set up wave after wave of relentless attacks by the Uzbeks, whose constant incursion into the Saudi box resulted in the woodwork being hit for what seemed like a dozen times and a perfectly good goal being disallowed – all before the first half ended.

'Saudi Arabia’s second goal, scored by Ahmed Al Mousa, was so perfectly constructed it might well have come out of the Arsene Wenger text book'


In  the second half, there were outstanding displays by the goalkeepers, especially by Uzbek’s Ignatiy Nesterov who must have stopped at least three certain goals. The commitment was tremendous and the result was eight yellow cards on the night. Saudi Arabia’s second goal, scored by Ahmed Al Mousa, was so perfectly constructed it might well have come out of the Arsene Wenger text book.

The Uzbeks pulled one back through Pavel Solomin and then proceeded to hit the post again just a minute later, causing the frantic crowd to erupt into a frustrating ecstasy. It was an understandable display of emotion. Had it gone in the game would have gone to extra time, and the crowd would have loved that. The match was of such quality that it deserved to be the final.

If ever Asian football needed a pick-me-up, this game was it because in the Group stages most of the favorites flattered to deceive. The Saudis did not distinguish themselves repeatedly being stretched by minnows. Neither did three-time winners Iran. Worse was the performance of China. The last tournament’s beaten finalists who were hoping to do one better, had an abysmal tournament.

But China's failure paled in comparison to the Australians who, boasting a whole host of English Premiership  stars including captain Mark Viduka, Lucas Neill and Harry Kewell, totally embarrassed themselves in a tournament they were expected to win. Aussie keeper, Mark Schwarzer, so competent in a Middlesbrough shirt, was made to look no better than ordinary. The Aussies totally failed to live up to their billing.

But football in Asia has somehow failed to live up to the levels set by South Korea in the 1986 World Cup. Saudi Arabia too, despite playing so well against the Uzbeks, are perennial flops on the big stage despite claiming a magnificent win against Belgium in the 1994 World Cup, a match remembered for Saeed Owairan's magnificent winner when he ran tghe length of the pitch to score.

Since then however, Saudi Arabia were outclassed by France in 1998, by Germany in 2002 and by Ukraine in 2006, conceding 16 goals. Japan, so wonderful in the 2002 World Cup on home soil, could do no better than last place in the group stage four years later. South Korea too, probably the best Asian performers in recent World Cups, failed to deliver away from home.

It could be that the natural small size of Asian players disadvantages them, but such assertions discredit the recent international performances of Japan who have stood toe to toe against bigger teams and won. In this tournament, they got past a much bigger Aussie team intent on playing long balls to the rowdy Mark Viduka. In fact some of the minor teams in this tournament, like Indonesia and Thailand, very nearly upset the more established and bigger Asian powers with their guile and commitment. Vietnam also rank among them.

No, it's not the size of the person but the size of his heart that matters in this game. There are a number of Asians who have played and excelled in the top European Leagues, but their numbers are few compared to the number of Americans, Africans and even Australians. In percentage terms and considering the size and population of the Asian continent, there simply just isn't enough representation of Asian talent at the top football clubs.

Of the batch playing now in Asia, the only recognizable European stars in this tournament are Celtic's Japanese player Shunsuke Nakamura, and Sheffield United's ex-Everton man Li Tie of China. This will be in stark contrast to the African Nations Cup when it comes around in January where approximately 50 players will come from the Premiershnip alone.

Asian players have no little skill. They have plenty of heart and plenty of drive. But it’s a shame that when the Premiership or even La Liga or Seria A season opens in August, astonishingly few teams will have an Asian on the field. And this is stranger still considering that football is the national sport in so many Asian countries and so many people actually play or are interested in the sport.

The Asian authorities must address this Asian discrepancy. South Korea and Japan's success will probably be used as a foundation to discover a formula that will get at least a few Asian Nations in contention to win a World Cup by the time it comes this way again.

In the meantime, there is a matter of the Asian Cup semi-finals to look forward to. Iraq will take on South Korea and Japan will take on Saudi Arabia. The finals itself will be held at the same Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Can a fan hope for a repeat of the Saudi-Uzbek game? Isn’t it the prerogative of every sports fan to dream?